BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Hallmark Channel didn’t invent Christmas-themed TV programming, but the Hallmark cable networks sure popularized predictably warm, fuzzy holiday programming in a new way over the past decade. Now other platforms are diving in — or back in.
Why? Because Hallmark has been extremely successful. At one point Hallmark seemed like a channel that would only draw an older demographic but over the years the network’s feel-good niche has seen its appeal broaden.
Christmas movies made Hallmark Channel the No. 1 cable network among women 18-49 and 25-54 for eight consecutive weeks during the 2018 holiday season. Other networks want a piece of that success.
This year’s Hallmark Channel highlights include “Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Christmas Love Story” (8 p.m. Dec. 7) starring Kristin Chenoweth (“American Gods”) as a New York music teacher who finds new love in time for the holidays and “Christmas at Dollywood” (8 p.m. Dec. 8) starring Danica McKellar (“The Wonder Years”) and set at Dolly Parton’s theme park (sort of ironic given that Parton is giving Hallmark Channel movies a run for their money with “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings” on Netflix).
Cable networks, streamers and broadcasters are nipping at Hallmark’s holiday heels.
Lifetime began airing original Christmas movies in late October and will continue to roll them out weekend evenings through Dec. 22.
UPtv debuts 10 new holiday-themed films, several based on Harlequin romance novels.
Ion offers six new Christmas movies for 2019, including “Christmas Matchmakers” (7 p.m. Dec. 8), starring Viveca A. Fox in the story of two personal assistants to high-power executives who try to get their bosses to date.
Kids’ channel Nickelodeon is getting into the act this year with “Top Elf” (8 p.m. Friday), a competition series featuring seven child contestants using their building and design skills to become Santa’s favorite and have their wish lists granted for good causes in their hometowns.
Freeform introduces its own holiday series, “Wrap Battle” (9 and 10 p.m. Monday), a gift-wrapping competition.
Even FX is getting into the Christmas spirit, albeit in a darker, more FX-like way, with its three-hour BBC co-production of “A Christmas Carol” (7:30 p.m. Dec. 19). Guy Pearce (“L.A. Confidential”) stars as Ebenezer Scrooge and Joe Alwyn (“The Favourite”) plays Bob Crachit in this dark re-telling.
At the Television Critics Association summer 2019 press tour, writer/executive producer Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) said he didn’t set out to make this version of “A Christmas Carol” deliberately political or scandalous.
“It's never a question of poor, exploited workingman, terrible exploitative ruling class. There's always nuance,” Knight said. “We've got something that does justice to that humanity. And the politics is in there, but it's so much more about the characters.”
A few years ago, Netflix jumped into the original Christmas movie fray and found success with 2017’s “A Christmas Prince,” which spawned sequels including the new “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby” (Dec. 5).
Already this year Netflix premiered the new animated film “Klaus,” a Santa origin story from the co-creator of “Despicable Me.” A second season of competition comedy series “Nailed It! Holiday” premiered last week.
Over at Amazon’s Prime Video, Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) narrates “The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show,” a variety special featuring performances of classic and original holiday songs and guest appearances by Fred Armisen, James Corden, Troye Sivan and Lana Del Rey.
Broadcast networks have always done Christmas specials — often one-hour, music-filled celebrations — but since the mid-‘90s, broadcasters exited the TV movie business. The success of Hallmark movies has lured at least one back in.
Next week ABC debuts “Same Time, Next Christmas” (9-11 p.m. Dec. 5, WTAE-TV), a holiday romance starring Lea Michele (“Glee”) as a young woman who met her childhood sweetheart during her family’s annual Christmas visit to Hawaii and years later the two reunite at the same resort.
ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” (8-10 p.m. Dec. 2) returns for its seventh season of extravagant home light displays.
Meanwhile Fox goes the scripted series route with “The Moodys” (9 and 9:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 9 and 10), a comedy initially titled “A Moody Christmas.”
Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”) and Elizabeth Perkins (“Weeds”) star as the parents of three adult children: screw-up Sean (Jay Baruchel, “She’s Out of Your League”), overachiever Bridget (Chelsea Frei) and creative-but-relationship-fraught Dan (Francois Arnaud, “The Borgias”).
The opening scene features mom taking a shotgun to living room Christmas décor, one of the more over-the-top scenes in the first two episodes, which also includes two of the kids stealing a Zamboni.
Occasionally funny but mostly sort of dull, “The Moodys” seems unlikely to become a Christmas classic.
Local holiday TV staples
The annual “WPXI Holiday Parade” from Downtown airs as usual, 9-11 a.m. Saturday, on Channel 11.
WTAE’s “34th Annual Project Bundle-Up Telethon” airs all day Dec. 6 with a one-hour special that evening at 7 p.m.
Kept/spun-off
Amazon’s Prime Video renewed its rotoscope-animated series “Undone” for a second season; Apple TV+ did the same for M. Night Shyamalan’s “Servant.”
“Stargirl,” a 2020 DC superhero drama series, will debut episodes on streaming service DC Universe and the same episode will air a day later on The CW.
Channel surfing
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” closes out 2019 with Jennifer Lopez as host with musical guest DaBaby on Dec. 7; Scarlett Johansson with Niall Horan Dec. 14 and Eddie Murphy with Lizzo Dec. 21.
Pittsburgh native Billy Porter ("Pose") joins "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2020" (8 p.m. Dec. 31, WTAE-TV) as the central time zone host from New Orleans.
Tuned In online
Today's TV Q&A column responds to questions about “The Walking Dead,” “Ally McBeal” and cable rates. This week's Tuned In Journal includes posts on PBS’s “College Behind Bars.” Read online-only TV content at http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/arts-entertainment-living/tuned-in.
TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2582. Follow RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook for breaking TV news.
First Published: November 28, 2019, 1:00 p.m.
